Friday, October 23, 2015

Raspy Root Orchid

Rhinerrhiza divitifloraFamily: ORCHIDACEAE

I was surprised to find this orchid in flower, early this week when we were still complaining that there had been no rain for ages. Its reputation is for flowering after rain, but it was undeterred by the very dry weather.
It is also said to prefer a damp, shady site, but this plant looks very healthy in its dry site on the eastern slope of the Range near Toowoomba. It was growing in dry rainforest with a rather light canopy. Its need for shade was apparently satisfied by its situation on the southern side of its host tree.
It is difficult to catch this species in flower, in the wild. All of a single plant’s flowers open within a short time, often on the same day, and last only a day or two, so its flowering season is very short indeed. Note the buds on this plant, which I photographed late in the morning. I
wonder whether they would have been open, if I had gone back a few
hours later.

There is also a tendency for all the raspy root orchids in an area to flower simultaneously, so if you are lucky enough to find one, it’s worth looking around for others.

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A site about plants indigenous to the basalt soils of inland south-east Queensland, and suitable for use in gardens. The area it covers is roughly bounded by the Great Dividing Range, the Condamine River, the New South Wales border and the Bunya Mountains.TO SEARCH THIS SITENote the little white search box on the top left hand side of the site. Type your search item there and press ENTER

Author’s Note:This blogsite is a follow-up to my book, "Toowoomba Plants. Vol 1: Trees and Shrubs", published in September 2005 and now out of print. Look for a revised edition of it in 2016.“Vol 2" is in the pipeline. It will be about other local native plants (i.e. not the trees and shrubs).Meanwhile I want to use this medium to:• make further information about our local plants available to interested people.• report on local news, and discuss local issues about local plants.

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